Mitch-Marsh show secures the series

Australian opener Matthew Short (66) and captain Mitchell Marsh (79*) ensured another thrashing for South Africa as they engineered a comprehensive eight-wicket victory in the second T20 International at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead in Durban on Friday evening.

Needing a modest 165 for victory, Short lashed 66 from just 30 balls against innocuous bowling from the home side which provided a barrage of loose and wide deliveries. Marsh followed his unbeaten 92 in the opening game’s 111-run victory with an equally imperious innings from just 39 balls with six fours and seven sixes.

Short helped himself to seven fours and four sixes while Marsh, savagely, collected half a dozen of both before powering the final delivery of the match from Lungi Ngidi over cover point for the winning runs.

Ngidi conceded 41 runs from his 2.5 overs but his hiding was no less chastening than Gerald Coetzee’s 2-0-32-0 or Bjorn Fortuin’s two overs which cost 25 runs.

Earlier Proteas captain, Aiden Markram, did his best to salvage his team’s innings with 49 from 38 balls as the home side limped to 164-8 after being asked to bat first but his three fours and two sixes, having spent the majority of his time at the crease in ‘rebuild’ mode following a top order collapse, was in vain.

Markram was indebted to Tristan Stubbs (27) for a semi-competitive total but, having compiled 226 in the first game, hopes of a series levelling victory seemed forlorn. And so they proved.

Former T20 captain, Temba Bavuma, made a glorious if brief impression in the first three overs lashing 35 from a mere 17 balls as Reeza Hendricks faced only two balls in an opening stand of 36.

An innovative Bavuma cracked six fours and a six before top-edging a pull shot against Sean Abbott to ‘keeper Josh Inglis. But three wickets crashed for just 10 runs in 15 balls to leave the Proteas struggling on 46-4 inside the Power Play.

🇦🇺 AUSTRALIA SEAL THE SERIES

The visitors seal the #KFCT20I series with a 9 wicket victory 🏏

Final T20 takes place on Sunday #SAvAus #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/ZQvGvIzOV9

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) September 1, 2023

Rassie van der Dussen (6) heaved a ‘free hit’ from an Abbott (3-22) no-ball for six but failed to score from another five balls before missing a full, straight delivery from left arm seamer Jason Behrendorff to depart lbw to his seventh ball.

Nathan Ellis (3-25) claimed two wickets in as many balls in the sixth over, a double-wicket maiden, with Reeza Hendricks (3 from nine balls) missing another straight ball – and using a review – before Dewald Brevis (0) tentatively edged a length ball to ‘keeper Inglis.

Stubbs played a delightful cameo of 27 from 20 balls (3x4, 1x6) in a fifth wicket stand of 51 with Markram before an audacious reverse-ramp against Behrendorff went wrong and he was bowled. It was the ultimate ‘risk-reward’ shot which would have drawn copious praise if successful, and equal derision when it fails.

When Markram was caught on the cover boundary off Abbott hopes of a seriously competitive total disappeared with him and the inevitable, comprehensive result duly followed.

The tourists made two changes to the XI which won the first game by a whopping 111 runs on Wednesday with Behrendorff coming in for left arm paceman Spencer Johnson while frontline legspinner, Adam Zampa, replacing 21-year-old Tanveer Sangha who claimed 4-31 on debut 48 hours earlier.

South Africa made just a single change to their starting XI with left arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin taking the place of allrounder Marco Jansen who was released from the squad to attend his sister’s wedding on Saturday.

The final game of the series will be played at the same venue starting at 2:00pm on Sunday. The first of the five-match ODI series is at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Thursday.

SOUTH AFRICA: Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram (captain), Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs (wkt), Bjorn Fortuin, Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi, Lizaad Williams, Tabraiz Shamsi

AUSTRALIA: Travis Head, Matthew Short, Mitchell Marsh (captain), Josh Inglis (wkt), Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff